Gotcha. I will inquire about the zigbee to gateway box since running ethernet to the inverters would be a nightmare. Did you ever look at the cost for it?
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SolarEdge Generation Monitoring - hardwired (ethernet) network connection
- Thread starter pdx_m3s
- Start date
I did not. At the time I was trying to connect the inverters to the internet I was not 100% certain that it would do what I wanted, so I really didn’t want to spend extra money on something that might not work. Additionally, in my case, running Ethernet was definitely a pain, but it wasn’t up to nightmare status.
Do let me know what you find about WiFi as I would be very curious to know what the WiFi options are with these inverters. In fact I may even decide to switch to WiFi as I don’t really like the way the cables were run.
Does this look like the right hardware to you?
Solaredge, SE-ZBSLV-B-S1-NA, Set App, Zigbee Wireless Slave Module For Addnl Se Inverter With External Antenna
It looks like that will connect your inverter to ethernet, rather than wifi. The little gateway box plugs into an ethernet cable, then it communicates through zigbee to your inverters. It also comes with the zigbee module for your inverter, which I don’t believe you would need because your inverter already has a zigbee module to talk to the tesla gateway.
So, short version is... as long as you’re OK pluging the gateway into ethernet and getting more parts than you need, then I *think* that this will work for you. I’ve never used it, so I can’t say with 100% certainty though.
OK, so wrong hardware. I have emailed SolarEdge to advise of the correct item to achieve the goal.
So I know that SolarEdge has a lot of tutorial videos on YouTube. I decided to see if I could find any that talked about setting up wifi on the inverter and I found this great video:
It shows the screenless inverter supporting wifi natively. But then in the description it says that it only applies to Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. And there are a few comments from people complaining about the fact that it’s not supported in the US.
So this just confuses me even more as it certainly appears that the inverter *can* connect to wifi, but for some reason they don’t allow it to in the US.
It shows the screenless inverter supporting wifi natively. But then in the description it says that it only applies to Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. And there are a few comments from people complaining about the fact that it’s not supported in the US.
So this just confuses me even more as it certainly appears that the inverter *can* connect to wifi, but for some reason they don’t allow it to in the US.
I was able to use the SetApp to connect to my inverter but in "View Only" mode since I do not have a login yet.
Attachments
You can sign up for an installer account on solaredge’s web site here:
SolarEdge
Note that this won’t give you access to monitor your system, but you can use it to log into setapp and change your inverter settings. To monitor your system you need to have tesla create an account for you. But that account will be monitoring only and won’t allow you to log into setapp.
When I created my installer account I used a different email address than tesla used for my monitoring account to keep things from getting confused, but I used my real name and address. Also when you sign up for the installer account there is a field where they ask for an inverter serial number, but that field is listed as optional. I left that field blank as my inverters were already registered to tesla and I didn’t want to cause any confusion.
SolarEdge
Note that this won’t give you access to monitor your system, but you can use it to log into setapp and change your inverter settings. To monitor your system you need to have tesla create an account for you. But that account will be monitoring only and won’t allow you to log into setapp.
When I created my installer account I used a different email address than tesla used for my monitoring account to keep things from getting confused, but I used my real name and address. Also when you sign up for the installer account there is a field where they ask for an inverter serial number, but that field is listed as optional. I left that field blank as my inverters were already registered to tesla and I didn’t want to cause any confusion.
rvanevery
Member
I'm seeing both ethernet and zigbee connection statuses working. Tesla gateway (black box, no PW) does not show the 'not connected' light. 'Auto' is selected on the SE inverter for which connection to use. Assuming it's going to favor ethernet and still not allow data to the gateway?
We are still waiting for PTO.
We are still waiting for PTO.
rvanevery
Member
Yes, that is saying that you have a valid ethernet connection and the zigbee device is connected as well, but even though you have multiple connections it will still only use one of them. And I believe that if it has auto select enabled then ethernet takes priority over zigbee. So even though it is connected to the zigbee gateway it won’t actually use that communication path because ethernet is available.
However, that said, while I believe that this is the case, I am not 100% confident in this answer because I haven’t tried it myself, so it is definitely worth experimenting and seeing if you can still get data in the tesla app through the zigbee gateway as well as data in the solaredge app through the ethernet connection.
Someone had posted that they installed a Solaredge Home Gateway Zigbee SE1000-ZBGW-K5-NA in place of the little Zigbee box Tesla provides, and he was then able to use both the Tesla app and the SolarEdge app. He did not mention whether he still had energy consumption data on the Tesla app.
I bought a Home Gateway Zigbee on eBay (they sell for less than $100). But can’t experiment with it until after my system is installed (it’s still in the permit stage).
If one loses the energy consumption data from the powerblaster by switching to the SolarEdge app, you could always swap out the powerblaster for a Neurio or Sense device and use its associated app to get that data (the disadvantage bring its a separate app that would give you the data).
Definitely keep us updated and let us know how it works. From what I understand about the Tesla zigbee gateway, I don’t believe that removing the Tesla zigbee gateway and replacing it with the solaredge zigbee gateway will still allow the Tesla app to receive solar production data. But obviously Tesla doesn’t really release any information about how this all works, so there is definitely a possibility that I don’t understand what it’s doing and things will work with the solaredge zigbee gateway.
It is also worth noting that with a powerwall installation the solar production is reported by the TEG and not through the zigbee gateway, so if someone has a powerwall install then replacing the Tesla zigbee gateway won’t affect the data that’s fed into the Tesla app.
Yes, this is only an issue for those without powerwalls. If one has powerwalls, its a no brainer to have the powerwall TEG report to Tesla and connect an Ethernet cable to the SolarEdge inverter to have the inverter report to SolarEdge, providing the best of both worlds.
I’m still in the permit review with the County, so it will be some time before the system is installed and the PTO given before I can experiment with the SolarEdge zigbee gateway.
I’m still in the permit review with the County, so it will be some time before the system is installed and the PTO given before I can experiment with the SolarEdge zigbee gateway.
rvanevery
Member
Went ahead and ordered the SE1000-ZBGW-K5-NA
Hoping it will allow communication between both zigbee gateways along with data transmission to both entities.
Hoping it will allow communication between both zigbee gateways along with data transmission to both entities.
I would be very surprised if that’s the case, but definitely keep us updated. As far as I know, no one has tried this before, so I don’t think we know for sure.
I have SolarEdge system (nothing Tesla) and Solar only and I get Power Usage on the SolarEdge app.
It's a separate device they installed with the coil clips in the main panel and it's fed back into the inverter. I think it's RS485 or something.
No Zigbee and only hardwire ethernet.
Yeah, this is a possibility, but I didn’t mention it for fear of my post getting overly complicated. Tesla definitely doesn’t install this additional meter, so if someone wanted to get power usage detail in their SolarEdge they could purchase and install this RS485 meter and configure their inverter to connect to it, but that’s likely not a DIY project.
It is fairly DIY, the hardest part would be getting them to enable it. Installing it, is pretty trivial. It's an OEM part too, I forget the company that actually makes the monitor. It's very accurate.
Mine is not 3 phase but this is exactly what the monitor looks like and I believe is the same unit and can be configured for 3 phase or split phase.
Three Phase Revenue Grade Meters | SolarEdge
I love having it integrated.
Yeah, I guess the DIY-ness of it depends on how comfortable you are opening the electrical panel and installing the CT’s. I would think that you would also be able to enable it yourself if you register for an installer account with solaredge.
It’s definitely a good potential option for folks who just want to ditch Tesla’s monitoring entirely and worth mentioning.
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